Trent's Sick Day
by theatrelove123
Summary: Trent isn't feeling too well, and it's up to Elli to take care of him! A blessing in disguise, might the doctor's sick day be just what the two of them need to realize just how much they care for each other? Fluffy EllixTrent :D. Please read and review!


**Hey everyone! Another one-shot by yours truly :). This one is about Doctor Trent and Elli (which is, in my opinion, one of the most adorable rival pairings in the whole series).**

**Even though this is a one-shot, and, therefore, reviews are not necessary for me to update it, I would still like to ask all of you lovely readers to please review once you're done! The difference between the number of hits some of my stories get and the reviews that they get are astounding o.O. So please, once you've finished reading, take the time to write a review! It'd make my day :D.**

**And...*Drumrolls*...cue story!**

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><p>Elli drummed her fingers on her desk impatiently, looking at the clock every few seconds. It wasn't like the doctor to be late to work. He was most punctual person Elli had ever met, and she was sure that he would never be late unless there was something wrong.<p>

Suddenly, the young nurse was overcome with worry. What if henever came? What if he'd gotten into an accident on his way there? What if he'd been attacked by a rabid raccoon, and was slowly slipping into insanity at _this very moment_?

_Calm down, _she told herself, taking slow deep breaths as he'd recommended to her. _There's always a logical explanation, there's always a logical explanation…_But even as she repeated that mantra in her head, Elli did not feel any less nervous. All she could picture was the doctor getting mauled by bears.

The bell perched over the door to the clinic jingled, causing Elli's head to turn. She sighed in intense relief as she saw the doctor walking in.

"Oh doctor, I'm so glad you're here! I was worried about—" she stopped short. The doctor didn't look right. He was walking with a sort of slouch, and grey eyes that were usually focused and alert looked glazed and exhausted. His chin, which was always cleanly shaven ("Facial hair shouldn't be acceptable in the work place," he'd once said, "it's unprofessional."), was peppered with black stubble.

"Doctor, are you alright?" Elli asked.

The doctor looked up at her with weary eyes. "Yes, Elli, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, is all." Elli could see right through his words. When you've worked with someone long enough, you can tell when they aren't feeling up to snuff. And the doctor was definitely not looking like himself.

"Doctor, you're obviously _not_ fine." She said, getting up from her desk, and offering the poor, dazed looking man an arm. Doggedly, he tried to push her away.

"No, Elli, I obviously am fine. Couldn't be better, in fact. Like I told you…I'm just…_tired…_" As he said this, the doctor began to wobble on his feet. He stumbled, and collapsed into Elli's arms.

Elli sighed. This was just like the doctor, to be so stubborn. He was a notorious workaholic, and he would never let anything interrupt his job.

"Come on, easy now, easy…" she whispered to him, as she helped him over to the patient care center in the room adjacent to his office. The doctor tried to protest, but his objections were nothing more than angry grumbling noises. He seemed to finally give in as Elli gently lay him down on one of the white beds, and tucked him in underneath crisp, clean sheets.

"There we go. Now, let's feel your forehead."She said, placing one had on the doctor's head. The hand recoiled back almost immediately.

"You're burning up! Oh, this won't do. I'll get the thermometer…"Elli said, straightening her apron as she walked into the other room and began rifling through the medicine cabinets. As she came walking back, thermometer in hand, she saw the doctor trying to lift himself out of bed, and failing to do so.

"Resistance is futile." She said, trying to be stern with him. "Doctor, I'm officially assigning you to bed rest for the day."

"But…Elli…what about my patients?" the doctor asked, breathing shallowly as he did so.

She looked to the left, looked to the right, and then looked back at the sickly man before her. "I don't know about you, but I don't see any other patients here at the moment. If you do see someone in here that I don't see, then you should definitely tell me. Hallucinating isn't a very good sign in regards to your state of mind." She smiled at him teasingly. "Now, let's see what we have going on here…" Before the doctor could say anything else, Elli stuck the thermometer in his mouth.

After a few moments, she sighed in relief.

"So…what's the verdict?"

"You're at ninety-nine degrees. It appears to be a low grade fever; nothing a little rest won't fix." She said sweetly.

"God damnit…must've been May…I treated her for a low grade fever last week…she coughed all over me…" He mumbled, burying his face into his pillow morosely.

"Come on, it's alright! Definitely not the end of the world." Elli put a comforting hand on his shoulder, causing him to turn back around and face her. "I'll be in the other room, doing some paperwork. If there's anything that you need, just ask me." She was about to leave, when the doctor spoke.

"Um…Elli?" He called.

"Yes?"

"Could you, uh, make me some chicken soup?" he asked.

Her face immediately brightened. "Definitely! One bowl of chicken soup, coming right up." She said, as she walked back into the patient room and towards the kitchenette in the corner. She chuckled to herself as she pulled a can of soup out of the cabinet. It was amazing how the doctor had gone from being a stubborn, persistent worker to behaving like a needy little child in a matter of minutes. She didn't mind, though; it made her happier than anything just taking care of him.

The doctor smiled as he watched Elli work skillfully away. She was usually so worried, so neurotic about things. But as soon as it came time to take care of someone, she became calm and collected, almost maternal. It was like caring for people was built into her, like she did it easily, without a second thought. She always knew just what to do and say. That was why he'd chosen her to be his nurse; she was the perfect one for the job.

"Elli?" he croaked.

"Mmhmm?" she sang, happily swaying in place as she waited for the soup to heat up in the microwave.

"Why do you call me doctor?" he asked. Elli stopped swaying immediately.

"What do you mean?" she asked, the singing gone from her voice. She walked over and sat down on his bedside, looking at him in puzzlement.

Admittedly, he didn't really know what he'd meant when he asked her the question. It just kind of came out, as though his mouth had asked it without his brain telling it to. Still, now that it had been asked, he found himself longing to know the answer.

"Well, I mean we've been working together for a long time, and I just thought it was kind of…I mean, it's not like I call you 'nurse'. So why do you call me doctor?" He asked again.

"I dunno." She said, suddenly shy. Her eyes were focused on the floor, and a slight rosy color tinged her cheeks. "I guess it's just what I've always called you."

"Well, could you maybe start calling me by my real name? We've known each other so long. Call me Trent, would you Elli?" He asked, suddenly needing her to. His sick eyes looked up at her pleadingly. And, sick or not, Elli could never resist those eyes.

_Trent. _The word echoed in her mind. It sent shivers down her spine. It made butterflies rise up in her stomach.

"I don't know…" she trailed off. Elli knew that, by referring to the man as doctor, she had kept their relationship strictly businesslike and platonic in her mind. But if she started calling him Trent, she knew that it would change things. She knew that feelings would find her if she called him Trent. Feelings that she wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to have. Feeling that she wasn't sure whether or not he shared.

"Come on, just try! Please?" he begged.

"O-okay…_Trent_." She said with effort. At the sound of his name coming from the young nurse's mouth, the doctor felt his heart skip a beat.

"That was perfect, Elli." He murmured softly.

"Thank you, Trent." The two just looked at each other for a moment, almost as if they were seeing each other for the first time.

_Ping! _The microwave interrupted the silence, announcing to the room that the chicken soup was ready. The noise brought Elli back to reality, making her notice how close she had gotten to the doctor's face during the time they'd been talking. There were only a few inches separating them. She could've kissed him if she wanted to…

Turning away flustered, Elli quickly stood up and went to the microwave. She took out the soup, poured it into a bowl, and brought it over to the doctor.

"Here it is! Ready for your consumption."

"Thanks." He said throatily, accepting the bowl with an appreciative nod. Spoon in one hand and bowl in the other, the doctor shakily started eating, Elli watching him thoughtfully as he did so. With each spoonful that he took in, his face seemed to regain more of its normal color.

"Mmmm, it's perfect." He said, giving her a genuine smile. "I'm feeling better already!"

"Don't think this means that you can start working again." she told him. "Your job is to relax so that you can feel 110% tomorrow."

The doctor laughed, a hearty, tenor sound that made Elli's heart leap. "I knew you were going to say that. Honestly, Elli, you're just like my mum."

"I am not!" she feigned anger. "I just care about you is all. I want to see you feel better, not sitting here, bedridden. "

"True. Elli, I think you're the most caring person I've ever met." His compliment of her caught Elli by surprise. During the average work day, the doctor was too engrossed in what he was doing to even chat with her, let alone _compliment _her. He was not one to give out compliments lightly, either.

"Do…do you really think so?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I really do." He said, smiling and handing her the empty bowl. The bowl travelled from his callused hands to her smooth ones. She took it, and placed it in the dishwasher. The soft rumbling of the machine as it whirred to life filled the room.

"Hold on, I'll check your temperature again." Elli said to the doctor, sticking the thermometer in his mouth once more. To her relief, his temperature had gone down to almost normal.

"All you need now is a good night sleep, and you'll be good as gold!" She told him.

"I think I'll take a nap then, if that'll improve my condition." He said, barely managing to stifle a yawn.

"Okay, well I'll be going then." Elli said reluctantly.

"No, Elli, wait." He called to her. "Come over here, please." He asked. Elli complied. She didn't have much of a choice. He was her boss, after all.

"Do you think you could promise me something?" he asked, his grey eyes boring into her brown ones.

"Uhhh…?" Elli muttered unintelligibly, caught off guard by the serious look in his eyes.

"Do you think that, when I get better, maybe we could…do something sometime? Like, outside the clinic? I never see you outside the clinic, and…I think that we could—" the doctor was cut short by a warm pressure on his lips.

The kiss was a simple one, lasting no more than a few seconds. Still, as it came to an end, the doctor found himself missing the feeling of her lips against his own.

"Uhhh…didyoujustkissme?" Now it was he who was speaking incoherently.

Elli just giggled. "I think that a date after you've recovered sounds lovely." She told him with a radiant smile. "Now get some rest. I'll hold up the fort while you sleep."

"Thanks, for everything." He told her earnestly.

"Don't mention it Trent." she said, blushing as she said his name. "It was my pleasure. Even doctors have their sick days every once in awhile!"

As Elli turned off the lights and left the room, Trent smiled to himself. This was _definitely_ the best sick day he'd ever had.


End file.
